Contribute to Icesus
If you want to create RPG content that people actually play — design areas, write quests, shape a living world — Icesus is one of the few places you can. The world has been online since 1995, so what you build is in front of real players within days. In MUD tradition, contributors are called wizards.
The short version: do not apply cold to an abstract project. Play a little, learn what the world feels like, talk to people, then choose a contribution path that fits your strengths.
Ways to contribute
- Area designers and quest writers — design rooms, quests, NPCs, items, and lore for the persistent world.
- Coders — extend the game in LPC on FluffOS. The Icesus codebase is private, but trusted contributors can get access after a trial period.
- Accessibility contributors — help make Icesus the best text RPG for screen-reader users.
- Wiki and documentation editors — improve public reference material at /wiki.
- Bug reporters and testers — turn confusing moments into clear reports that maintainers can act on.
The path
- 1. Play enough to understand the world. Create a character, read rooms, try commands, and ask beginner questions.
- 2. Join the community. Discord is the easiest place to talk about ideas before they become work.
- 3. Start small. A wiki correction, bug report, accessibility note, or tiny design proposal is better than a giant first promise.
- 4. Find a mentor. Larger code, area, and quest work happens with context from existing contributors.
- 5. Earn trust. Wizard access is responsibility. The trial path exists to protect the world and help new builders succeed.
What helps
- Clear written English.
- Patience with old systems and long-running community habits.
- For code work: willingness to learn LPC and read existing FluffOS/LPMud-style code.
- For writing work: respect for existing lore, geography, and player history.
- For accessibility work: concrete reports, tested setups, and exact reproduction steps.
You do not need to be a professional game developer. You do need curiosity, follow-through, and enough humility to learn the world before changing it.
How to start
Get a feel for the game first: play for a while, learn the systems, ask questions on Discord. If you are new to MUDs, start with How to Play a MUD. When you're ready, see Support for the wizard application path, or report bugs and ideas on GitHub.
For developers curious about the engine: read FluffOS vs Evennia, then see Build the World.